Centuries ago, King Arthur cut the Blood Queen (Milla Jovovich) into pieces which were spread out in different parts of the
country. It is present day and something is putting her back together so she can exact her vengeance on humankind. The
only thing to stop her is Hellboy (David Harbour) and a team of BRPD agents.
I am one of the fans who wanted to see Guillermo del Toro complete his trilogy of HELLBOY films because I really loved
HELLBOY (2004) and HELLBOY: THE GOLDEN ARMY (2008). The third movie never came to be because neither film was a really big
hit and studios bulked at the price tag that del Toro wanted to make the third movie for. When it was decided the third
movie couldn't be made, the producers decided to reboot the series and go back to the horror roots of the Hellboy comics written
by Mike Mignola. The end result isn't as bad as some critics say it is, but it nowhere comes close to the greatness of the
other two movies. The character development isn't as good as it was in the other two movies and the movie drags for at least
the first 30 to 40 minutes. Even worse, the soundtrack and score was mixed too loud to the point of coming off as obnoxious.
Ian McShane feels like he is phoning is his performance as Professor Broom, Hellboy's surrogate father. The special effects
are great, but the makeup on Hellboy is inconsistent as it is bright red in some scenes while it is a very light red in other
scenes (and don't get me started on his orange smashing hand). The powerful psychic girl Alice and Daniel Dae Kim's character
aren't as great characters as Liz Sherman, Abe Sapien, or Hellboy's handler from the first HELLBOY. The writing isn't there
to make Alice or the BPRD guy work. Then the movie has as series of adventures and characters that make this reboot a jumbled
mess that I wish was better than what it ended up to be given director Neil Marshall directed a couple of my favorite movies
DOOMSDAY and DOG SOLDIERS, but I wonder if the rumors of behind-the-scenes troubles made this a misfire. If you are a fan
of the other two HELLBOY movies, I suggest you rent it when it comes to DVD, blu-ray, and digital. Skip it in theaters.
This review is (c)4-16-2019 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission. Send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com
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